Education

Hannah Greenebaum Solomon

Dates: January 14, 1858 - December 7, 1942

From a well-to-do Jewish family in Chicago, Hannah and her sister were the first Jewish members of the Chicago Woman's Club. Hannah married Henry Solomon, a businessman, in 1879, and focused on family matters until 1890.

It was in that year that Hannah Solomon was appointed to a committee to plan the 1893 World Parliament of Religions, held at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Hannah Solomon was not only one of the key organizers in ensuring a wide presence of women of all religions and of Jewish representatives, but she also organized a Jewish Women's Congress to be held at the time of the Parliament. The meeting of the Jewish Women's Congress established the National Council of Jewish Women, which Solomon served as its first President, 1893 - 1905.

Hannah Solomon continued her active involvement, working in Chicago with the woman's club movement and in immigration service work. She worked closely with Jane Addams and her Hull House project.

Hannah Solomon also became involved with the Industrial School for Girls, with sanitation reform, with juvenile justice, and, during World War II, with defense support work.

Her publications include many articles; some of these were collected in the 1911 A Sheaf of Leaves. Her autobiography was published after her death: Fabric of My Life.

Hannah Solomon was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.

Hannah Greenebaum Solomon on the Web

Hannah Greenebaum Solomon
From the Jewish Women's Archive, an illustrated and annotated online exhibit on Hannah Greenebaum Solomon.
Hannah Solomon
The National Women's Hall of Fame honors Hannah Solomon. Biography, portrait.
Jewish Heroes in America
From Florida Atlantic University Library Judaica Collection, a biography honoring Hannah Greenebaum Solomon.
Our Story
From the National Council of Jewish Women, a history that places Hannah Solomon in a key organizing role.